Suspension - Front end ride height problem

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stewil007
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Suspension - Front end ride height problem

Post by stewil007 »

Hi,

my 2.0 HDi SX started bouncing recently, so checking the forums it appeared the first port of call was to change the spheres.

The rear suspension seems fine but its the front which appears to have the problem.

I've changed the 2 wheel spheres as directed, performed the 'citrerobics' - up and down 5 times.

The problem now is that the front suspension doesn't raise or lower to the normal ride height.
If i select Max height - the car will rise to the full height
If i select Min height - the car will fall to the lowest level.

The rear suspension moves back to the normal ride height when i select it, but the front won't go. IF I am at Max the front will stay at Max, if I am Min, the front will stay at Min

The LHM level (from what I can tell) is high - at the Max height the indicator is above the higher of the two red rings.

From the myriad of posts and problems, I'm getting a bit bogged down in what i should do next.

Can anybody advise what is best to do next?

Also, some people have asked whether my car is hydractive or not? How do I tell?

Cheers

Steve
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Post by addo »

Steve, first port of call is to sign up for "service.citroen". It's a free website which will help you identify exactly what spare parts are needed for your car.

Aside from that, the infamous "white link" is probably your source of suspension grief in this case. The forward one is behind your front anti-roll bar, reasonably amidships. Look for a small plastic dogbone thing linked to the bar, about 1¾" long with ½" domed ends. One end has probably fallen off. Buy a new link, pop off the old one and grease the knobs before clipping your new link on.

As we always advise, go easy when working under a Citroën - make sure it is supported well under the jacking points rather than under suspension elements.

Regards, Adam.
stewil007
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Post by stewil007 »

Cheers Adam,

I'm off to the local Citroen garage to buy the front and rear link - just in case......better to spend a couple of quid now than get under the car and realise i need the parts :)

I can't register on the serice.Citroen as I need to be a company and the private user part doesn't have the xantia....or have i missed a trick here?

Thankfully my dad has all the axel stands and tools i'll need, but thanks for the heads up on safety!!

Rgds

Steve
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Post by jgra1 »

hi Steve, if the link has broken or snapped off, or the metal tang that it connects too, it may be indicitive of a seized/seizing height corrector..

get the car on ramps, and you can work under it on high low or anywhere in between, if you want

but do be careful underthere !

good luck
John
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Post by citronut »

its not the H/C that size's as they themselfs give very little trouble, it is the mechanisum the H/C is attatched to which size's, this needs a good doss of a light oil and working it untill it is free to move at both pivot points, then plastering in grease to help keep it free,

as others have already said be VERY CAREFULL whilst under a hydraulic citroen, especialy working on hight correctors, as they can and do drop suddenly, and have been known to KILL

regards malcolm
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Post by red_dwarfers »

citronut wrote:its not the H/C that size's as they themselfs give very little trouble, it is the mechanisum the H/C is attatched to which size's, this needs a good doss of a light oil and working it untill it is free to move at both pivot points, then plastering in grease to help keep it free,

as others have already said be VERY CAREFULL whilst under a hydraulic citroen, especialy working on hight correctors, as they can and do drop suddenly, and have been known to KILL

regards malcolm
I second Malcolm

My HC linkage is a bit siezed at the moment, it will go up to normal from low but not from high...its been like it for months, I must sort it out before the MoT as I occasionally get people flashing at me thinking im on full beam :oops:
Kev

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Post by jgra1 »

yep sorry I meant the mechanism that moves the corrector valve, :oops:
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Post by lexi »

Crushing is the obvious danger under a Citroen. However when allowing for the scenario of suspension dropping suddenly make sure your arms aint bridged across anything where they could be broken like a lever. Eg. working under the car on a ramp but not having the axle jack up. Seen guys do this and putting their arms in to check play on things............deadly :shock:
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stewil007
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Post by stewil007 »

well, it was the plastic link that had popped, after much arsing around and getting the other one back on........it came off again once i took the suspension from low to high.

so i'm guessing the height corrector is stuck or seized.

I've lathed it in WD40 and am having a sarnie bfore trying again.

How much give should the corrector have bfore trying again?
citronut
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Post by citronut »

its not the hight corrector which usualy sizes, its the linkage/mechanisum which is actuated when there is any rotating movement in the anti roll bar or the manual hight control, both front and rear mechanisum has two pivoting points, they are the pats with a coiled spring wraped aronud them, they only move very slightly in normal running this is why they seize,

the best way i find to make sure they are free to move is with them removed from the car and from the hight corrector

then you can leave them in soak in engine oil over night after freeing them off, then give the a bl**dy good greaseing on re/fitting

regards malcolm
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Post by stewil007 »

got it sorted. used fine spray grease to lather the coils and using a screwdriver freed them up so that there was plenty of movement when i re-attached.

It did the trick and i'm driving normally again.

one thing i would say is, do the job on ramps, not using axel stands - when on axel stands the wheels drop and the plastic clip is too far away from the metal clip to attach. When done on the ramp, using a hydraulic jack to lift the car slightly to line up the clip, while the wheels were still in contact with the ramp.

Also, why on earth is the gap you can work in about 1" squared......they couldn't make it much trickier could they??

anyway, thanks for all your help!!

Steve
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